Pacific Dawn Reds

Sunday, May 5th, was our last LARRC charter on the Pacific Dawn to the Channel Islands for this spring. I carpooled to Ventura with Rick and Jim. We arrived early enough for a pizza dinner at Milano's before the boat retuned from the day's fishing.

Pat Cavanaugh and Dustin were our captains for this trip. On deck were Mad Dog Mike and Opie. Jimmy was master of the galley again. The crew on this boat is top notch. We boarded around 7:30 p.m., checked-in and headed to bed early. We departed at 9:30 p.m. with hopes of making squid before fishing. I awoke when the engines turned down. We started snagging squid around 5 a.m. Shortly thereafter the squid decided to float. What a sight - squid floating under the lights. The crew pulled out the crowder and scooped enough squid to fill one of the bait tanks.



Squid Floating under the Lights

We began our fishing at Eagles Rock. At sunrise, we noticed what looked like a foamer coming towards the boat. On closer look, it was a pod of over a hundred baby seals. Other than one bat ray and a baby seal, nothing was biting. Pat moved the boat and took a drive by Beechers but kept going. The current was so strong that Pat decided to fish the front side of the island in deeper water. Dropper loops with 2 Kenji Flies and 12 ounces of weight was the recommendation. Add squid strips or red gulp to the hooks was all we needed.

We fished in 240 to 300 feet of water most the day. We had limits of reds by 11:30 a.m. Jim and I fished the bow along with the crew. At one point, Pat was fishing with two rods and both got bit at the same time. It was fun watching Pat reel in fish on both rods at the same time.


Pat reeling fish in on two rods

Jim was headed for another jackpot win with a 6 1/2 pound red caught on a 16 ounce Braid Slammer jig.




Opie holding Jim's 6.5 lb. Red on Braid Slammer Jig

With limits of rockfish, Pat decided to make a move to Santa Cruz Island to fish for sheepshead and calicos in shallow water with the boat nudged close to the island. On the way to Santa Cruz, Jimmy fed us fish enchiladas, rice and beans. His food just gets better each time we fish on the Dawn.

We fished dropper loops with #2 hooks and a strip of squid or a leadhead and squid. Blue bass bit the dropper loops well, however, we never saw a sheepshead or calico. The water was quite cool. Just before Pat called it a trip, Joel ended up stealing the jackpot from Jim with a cabazon just slightly larger than Jim's red. Such is fishing.


Fishing Santa Cruz Island in Shallow Water

Another great trip with delicious fish to take home. We all have our favorite recipes for rock fish and freely share with all. I usually make Mike's favorite my first night home - Red sashimi and steamed red. Here's my Steamed Red Snapper recipe:

Steamed Red Snapper



Incredients:
1 whole, fresh 6 lb. red snapper or rock
cod, gill, gutted and scaled
3-4 oz. fresh ginger root
1 bottle cooking sake
3 bunches green onions, chopped in
1/8 inch pieces
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup peanut oil

Preparation:
Peel ginger root and thinly slice. I use the potato peeler as a slicer to cut thin ginger slices. Be sure fish is clean and patted dry. Place whole fish in plate with high sides. Make 3 slits in side of fish parallel with the gills. Insert ginger slices in slits. Turn fish over and repeat on other side. Put remaining ginger slices inside belly cavity of fish.

Put fish (plate and all) in top of steamer. Place sake in bottom of steamer. Steam fish until fish is cooked and coming off the bones (approximately 20 minutes) on medium high.

Remove plate of fish from steamer. Do not drain fish juices from plate. These will combine with the oil and soy sauce for your sauce.

Heat peanut oil until boiling. Pour half of peanut oil over fish. Place green onions over the entire side of the fish. Pour soy sauce over green onions. Pour remaining peanut oil over green onions.

Serving Suggestion:
Place portions of fish on plates. Spoon generous portions of green onions and sauce over fish. Service with white rice.

ENJOY!